But for the first time, there's no honor system, meaning city officials will be doing periodic "spot checks" of city streets to make sure those homeowners who opted out of the leaf fee (either because they said they had no street trees or that they would clean up the leaves themselves) were honest, a spokeswoman for the Portland Bureau of Transportation said.

Homeowners who try to skirt the system will be billed again for the service and -- also new this year -- there may be "administrative costs" or fines added to their bills.

But Hales and Brady, who both live in leaf districts and said they paid their leaf fees last year, split on the question.

"Leaf collection is a basic city service that should be funded through
existing revenue streams," Brady wrote in an email. "And frankly, I want citizens to have incentives - not
disincentives - for planting trees. As mayor, I will put an end to the leaf
collection fee."

Hales wrote: "The goal is to have storm drains free from clogs, not
filling the city's coffers from homeowners who already pay a lot in property
taxes. That being said, I think that the city has done a good job in trying to
work the kinks out as they gear up for this year's collections. A streamlined
opt-out system and the new addition of being able to rake all your leaves into
the street seem like a good thing to try. Again, the goal is a public safety
one, not a revenue-production one -- if this new system doesn't work then we need
to explore other options."

Here are more answers to questions about the program.How many households and commercial properties are affected?

The city added about 4,000 properties to leaf districts this year, bring the total to 34,099.

How do I know if I live in a leaf district?

The city has a new website where you can type in your address and it will tell you automatically whether you live in a leaf district.

How can I opt out?

You can do it online. Or call 503-865-LEAF.What are the administrative costs to the city of the program?

Last year it cost the city about $176,000. This year, the cost is estimated to jump to $228,000 mostly because of the additional expenses from sending out mailers to residents.

No, it cost another $550,000 to operate the leaf pickup, bringing the total cost to $726,000 for a shortfall of more than $300,000.

So why does the city do it?

"Any leaf fee we collect is less we have to pay out of our share of the gas tax for basic services," said Cheryl Kuck, a spokeswoman for PBOT. "It's that much more for filling potholes, marking crosswalks and repairing signs."